One More Star
by Musing Soul
Summary: Everyone knew the stories. As a child, she had tried to count the stars. Now, she could barely bring herself to look at them, the echoes of those fairy tales ringing behind her ears. Weiss Schnee couldn't bring herself to find out if there was one more star in the night sky.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Welp. The plot bunnies strike again. This time, much less happy bunnies it seems. Regardless, they have been beaten back (Not really, send help!) and you get to …enjoy?... the fruits of my labors? For anyone curious, next chapter of Petals is undergoing a 1000% rewrite because halfway before posting it, I realized it sucked, and was doing all the wrong things. So that got junked, and then autosave ate about 3k words of the written version. Apologies. Should be here soonish. As soon as this goes live, I'm going into writing that. (Or not. I'm promising nothing, it's being a bear to write).**

 **Tell me who's the loneliest of all**

With a start, Weiss Schnee shot upright, biting hard at the inside of her check to contain the scream, and the desire to leap from bed, her fingers grasping for Myrtenaster. In an instant they found the hilt of the weapon, grasping so tightly had Weiss be thinking more, she might have worried about her knuckles bleeding.

"Another dream." Experience had taught her that she wasn't going to fall back asleep, even fitfully. Glancing across the room to verifying that the room's other occupant was asleep, Weiss got out of bed, padding from the room as quietly as possible, rapier still in hand. Despite her best efforts, and knowing that she was safe, the familiar, and painful weight of the blade never left her side these days. She could barely even walk a dozen feet away from the sword without a rising panic in her chest, a feeling of exposure and weakness that was overbearing even to consider.

It was harder to avoid creaking stairs here, being that these were wooden, instead of well-polished marble, but Weiss managed, her footsteps muffled by the carpet runners. With only moonlight for illumination, she moved carefully across the simple living room, into the kitchen.

"Can't sleep?" The voice was soft, graveled with tiredness, coming from the darkened corner. Whirling, Weiss brought her blade up, already forming the thoughts required to attack. "Easy Princess." Leaning out of the shadows, Qrow Branwen could barely even manage his usual leer. He too, was different that last time Weiss had seen him. Unshaven, and far more raggedy than normal.

"No." Offering his question only a curt reply, Weiss her attention to making coffee. If she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well be fully awake for it. While the drink brewed, she glanced towards Qrow again. While everything she knew about the man suggested that he was a drunk, there was no sign of his usual flask, or any kind of drink for that matter.

"Gonna share that coffee?" One of his eyebrows arched. Weiss didn't reply, but did pour him a cup, after taking a minute to find them, in near pitch darkness. He gave a grunt of thanks as she passed it to him, before returning to her own, and adding sugar. The scalding hot liquid burned, a sensation Weiss couldn't help welcoming. The warmth didn't fill the void, but it did manage to at least mask most of it, for a little while.

Qrow, again to her surprise, didn't say anything, just sipping at his own coffee, and glaring at the floor, or maybe the slowly moving spot of moonlight upon it. His own weapon leaned against the wall next to him, within instant arms reach. Dropping into a kitchen chair, Weiss at last released her grip on Myrtenaster, although her hand hovered close to the blade.

Minutes passed, the moonlight slowly shifting across the floor. Something glinted from the corner, light off of metal, which wasn't quite retracted hastily enough.

Calmly setting her coffee down, Weiss spoke. "Who are you?" Her finger's curled around the hilt of her blade once more, head turning to glare the corner near where Qrow sat. The man just grunted, shooting the darkness and angry look, and returning to brooding.

From that shadow stepped the woman who Yang had described as saving her from Torchwick's henchwoman on the train. For a moment, the two locked eyes, through the slits of her mask.

"You have my condolences." Her voice was silken, causing the hair on Weiss's neck to stand on end. Before the Schnee heiress could mount a reply however, the woman turned, and stepped out the door, where Weiss caught the tail end of some kind of portal vanishing behind her.

"Cheery, ain't she?" Qrow growled. There was little to say in response to that, as Weiss forced herself to let go of her weapon, the cold already seeping back.

"I've met more personable people." Qrow snorted out a laugh at the manner in which she avoided insulting the woman.

"Just say it. My sister's a bitch." A bitter smile crossed his face. "Still thinks I'm gonna come back." He shook his head. "Not sure why, told her no enough times." Head lolling back, he gave Weiss a piercing stare. "World's a damn awful place."

That went without saying. She didn't have to look farther than her own Father, or the White Fang to know that. Plenty of terrible things existed in the world, just as plenty of good had been there too. Even if now there was a little less… Weiss gave a violent shake of her head, trying to avoid thinking about that.

"Not that you'd know, talking to that one." He snorted, draining the rest of the coffee in one go. "You make a mean coffee, Princess." Weiss rolled her eyes, not having the energy to bother arguing that she had a name.

They drifted back into companionable silence again, until the sun started to rise, and Weiss drifted back upstairs again, to crawl into bed, and pretend to have been sleeping. She wasn't convinced the ruse fooled anyone, but at least they gave the appearance thereof.

"You're up early." Blake's words were unusually toneless, even for the Faunus girl. Weiss shrugged, padding into the room, setting Myrtenaster on the bed before grabbing her clothes.

"Wanted coffee." Blake nodded, accepting the answer. "There should be some left is you want any." Had she known Blake was up, Weiss might have had breakfast of some sort made, although she wasn't sure what. Cooking was not a skill she'd ever needed, and now that she did, Weiss found that lack of knowledge unbelievably frustrating.

Blake, she knew, was an okay cook, not amazing. Yang, on the other hand, was a terrible cook. Letting that girl near a stove or oven was asking for food poisoning if you were lucky, death if you weren't. The only one of the four of them that was a good cook was Ruby.

Except it wasn't four, now was it, the little voice in her head snapped. It's only three of you now. Fist balling, Weiss slumped against the wall of the shower, as days and days of unshed tears tried to fight their way out, and scalding water pounded her back. Every droplet burned, and on any other day she would have turned the heat down. Today, however, Weiss just stood, and shook, softly whimpering as the feelings surged and died.

Something banged on the door. "People here to see you lot!" Qrow. Weiss spared the door a withering glare, before clamping down on the rollercoaster emotions, shoving them aside.

Making a point to ignore the mirror, she stepped from the room, hand resting on her weapon. It wasn't hard to guess who she'd find in the living room; Tiayang Xiao Long was probably still at the school here on the island. Qrow would disappear from dealing with anyone else from the moment she knew that people were about. Blake would be hiding, Yang wasn't awake. That of course, left her as the person to deal with their school friends.

True to expectations, the remaining members of Team JNPR as well as Team CFVY were milling around the living room. Velvet saw her coming first, waving shyly from the far side of the room.

"Weiss!" Nora bounced up, before dropping back down again, seeming to consider what Weiss suspected was a flying hug. Probably a good thing, as Weiss's hand curled around her weapon, muscles twitching at the expectation of a threat. She wasn't sure that she'd have caught the strike before hurting Nora had it come to that.

"What are you doing here?" Her gaze swept across the room. Since the Fall of Beacon, everyone had been so busy, no one had really had time to figure out where Team RWBY had vanished too, and once she'd been certain Blake wasn't going to up and disappear, Weiss had taken pains to ensure that their tracks were proverbially covered. Neither of the other two were in any shape to deal with mobs of people, and…well, it left Weiss the one to play interference, and she was hardly any better off.

"Looking for you lot." Coco's stare was surprisingly piercing over the top of her sunglasses. "You just disappeared, and nobody has a clue where any of you went. Wanted to make sure you were okay." Wanted to make sure none of you did anything stupid now that Ruby's dead. That was the undertone. It took considerable effort for Weiss not to snap back.

"We're fine." Fine enough without anyone else at least. To her surprise, it was Jaune who snorted. For a boy normally so oblivious to the feeling so f those around him, Weiss thought he didn't' really have room to talk.

"Yeah, nope." Elbows on his knees, the blonde's head turned, giving Weiss a stare that was surprisingly chilling, from one who was usually so dense. "You're not fine Weiss, none of you are." Her mouth opened to retort, but he kept going, harsh gaze killing her words as they formed. "You're all holed up here, without any contact with anyone else. When's the last time you stepped out that door?" He gestured towards the front door, before slumping down again.

"Two days ago." Leaning back against the wall, Weiss fixed Jaune with a glare of her own. The others, whether by agreement or wisdom remained silent. "And what does that have to do with anything?" She knew that perhaps it was unfair, to lash out at Jaune. He meant well, and of everyone, he was in the best position to understand; having lost someone he loved.

He didn't look up from the ground. "You're going to just crack eventually. All three of you are." His fists balled. "Sitting inside, doing nothing but stewing on your thoughts, and blaming yourselves for what happened?" Her heart skipped, twisting painfully with those words, although none of that made its way to her face. "I…" Word at last failed the young man, head dropping further. "We've already lost two friends; we don't want to lose more."

That, as it happened, was the best way to twist the knife Jaune had already buried in the still raw wounds. Mentally, Weiss cursed the blonde haired man, although none of that sentiment made its way onto her face. "Fine." Pushing off the wall, she exhaled, drawing on years of practice to push back to rising guilt and anguish. "I'll get Blake and Yang." She had no doubt they intended to drag the three of them into Vale for something, although what that something was, the heiress didn't know.

That was a detail she would keep to herself, no doubt it would complicate the already fraught matter that getting the others to leave their rooms would be. Halfway up the stairs, she decided to start with Yang. Dragging the blonde from the dark would be difficult.

"Just go away." Yang was already glaring before Weiss had even opened her mouth, the same reaction she gave every morning, when the door creaked open. Masking surprise, at the fact the other girl was even awake, Weiss stepped inside. "Tell them I'm not interested in whatever they want."

"They aren't going to go away." Light flooded the room as the curtains parted. "And I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to fight seven people at once." A spark of something appeared in Yang's eyes, before dying as her gaze shifted to her arm again, as it always did when the idea of combat came up. "Come on." The Blonde glared, but didn't move. "Yang."

Not for the first time, Weiss grumbled that depressed Yang was even harder to handle than an angry one. At least when Yang was angry, she'd react, or give a measure of something with which to react too. As she was now, it was impossible to say for sure what was going on in Yang's head. "What do they want?" Slowly, the blonde sat up, eyes shifted away from where her arm had been.

"I assume they're dragging us into Vale." Weiss shrugged, allowing herself and expression of moderate frustration. No doubt, in a different time and place, Yang might have seen through it, now, early in the morning, overwhelmed with loathing and grief, she didn't. "Someone has it in their head that we've been cooped up too long, and need to get outside. It seems easier to humor them for a short while, then to argue." And less emotionally stressful. Whoever had decided to get Jaune to be the one to argue their case had suffered a fit of accidental brilliance, and deep inside, Weiss could at least respect that a small degree. Despite his idiotic exterior, he had found the exact right way to drive the emotional knife in, and then, not content to leave it there, she had twisted that blade ripping and tearing.

Blake met them outside the door, Weiss having long since accepted the realities of her teammates enhanced senses, and together the three trooped down the stairs, to bright, if cautious smiles. Neither of her teammates were going to be inclined to talk, so Weiss gestured for the others to lead on. As they did, so noted that while Jaune's group lead the way, Coco's team followed behind, keeping them from slipping away. Her finger's twitched towards her rapier, not enjoying the feeling of being caged in, even if their friends meant well.

An hour later, Weiss found herself seriously regretting the choice to not pick a fight over this. While Blake had said a few words, and Yang perked up, by some fluke of Nora, Weiss herself was reaching the end of her rope, with stares, and whispers. Apparently word of her very public fight with her Father had gotten out, either that, or someone had gone and started rumors about…

"Now that we've managed to sit down somewhere, _what do you want_?" Perhaps more demanding that normal, but Weiss had lost the ability to be patient; indeed, patience was furthest from her thoughts. She wanted to be done with this entire affair, and back somewhere, preferably alone. It had been years since she desired to just break something, seeking the emotional catharsis that logically she knew wouldn't come.

At once, every head at the table turned to Jaune, who sighed, flushing under the sudden scrutiny. "Come on guys, why do I have to explain it?" A low growl slipped past Weiss's control. "Alright alright!" Taking a deep breath, the blonde dropping his Scroll on the table, the projector whirring to life, and the map of Remnant rising a few inches into the air. "We think that whoever attacked Beacon is going to after Mistral next."

"What?" Genuine shock allowed one of Weiss's eyebrows to shoot up, before her control reasserted itself, expression falling back upon cool disinterest. While she hadn't been exactly keeping up on what happened in the outside world, nothing had, to her knowledge, suggested the attack on Beacon had been part of a larger pattern.

"Cinder's team was from Haven, right?" Coco stabbed a finger at the offending school on the map. "And her two _teammates,"_ The word spit out, almost like a curse, "are still out there."

"Beacon's a mess, and isn't going to be starting back up any time soon." Jaune picked up. "And if Haven's anything like here, they aren't ready for that."

"So you're going to warn them." A slow nod was her only answer. It wasn't a bad plan, really. "How does this involve us?" There was no way they were going to ask them to tag along.

"We want you to come, of course!" Velvet, eyes wide with earnest innocence. Weiss closed her eyes, taking a long breath. She could feel both Yang and Blake's stares, as they wondered what her answer might be; the stares of the others, who seemed to have figured out she was the voice of Team RWBY.

"Why?" Opening her eyes, Weiss settled on a neutral expression, putting more effort than strictly needed into keeping her fingers from tapping. Myrtenaster grew leaden across her lap, the fingers of her left hand curling about the hilt of the rapier,

This time, to my surprise, heads turned to Ren, who sighed, speaking slowly. "Because, of our group, you know the enemy we face the best." She guessed the fact she was the Schnee Heiress would help as well. "The more people we have to back our story up; the better chance we stand of being taken seriously."

For a long time, Weiss didn't speak. She could feel the weight of Blake and Yang's stares on her back, the pressure of the attention from the others. The bursting feelings in her own chest, the wild incoherent monster that stalked her dreams some nights, telling her to turn, to run, to hide. She could feel the weight of Ren's logic, the cool reasoning pressing back against those other forces.

"We'll talk about it." She replied at last.

 **-One More Star-**

"Gonna share that?" Qrow again. Weiss jabbed a finger towards a still steaming coffee cup, not even shifting from glaring at the moon. "Had some interesting visitors today." A chair creaked as he sat down, cloth. "Bunch of kids. Seem to think that Cinder's lackey's are gonna take a swipe at Haven." Weiss didn't move. She wasn't surprised that they'd gone to Qrow, probably an attempt to sway opinions. While nobody knew exactly how, he knew Ruby and Yang from before Beacon, so someone probably figured if they could talk Qrow into things, he would convince Yang, and then Blake and Weiss. "Said they asked you three to tag along."

A grunt was the only answer that deserved. Weiss might have been impressed with the level of thinking involved, but at this point, she couldn't muster the effort. That, and it was a tactic that was a little too close to something her Father might have done, before their very public falling out. Qrow snorted.

"Not even going to dignify that with a response?" Wood and ceramic clinked.

"What is there to say?" At long last, Weiss turned, fixing the man with a calculating stare. "They try and get you to convince us to go?" She didn't have the patience to play this game. A flicker of amusement crossed his face. So they had. "You can tell them no."

Qrow chuckled. "I already did." Weiss's eyes widened, not having seen that coming. While she had shared more than a few cups of coffee with the former drunk, she didn't consider herself to have much of a relationship with Qrow. "You're not quite as good at keeping it under wraps as you think you are Princess." The man sighed. "You do a good job of running interference, but it isn't that hard to see that you're slowly cracking under the strain of keeping it all bottled up inside. Adding in traveling?" He snorted. "Not going to be something you're on board with, unless the other two want to go already."

Weiss sighed, giving a slow nod. Nothing Qrow said was wrong. "Then why are you here?"

He sighed himself, gesturing. "Someone's gotta keep you kids outta trouble, and Tai is in no shape to do it." A lopsided smirk crossed his face. "Besides, you do make a mean cup of coffee."

"I had though you partial to whiskey." The taunt slipped out before Weiss could stop herself, and drew a quiet laugh from the man. She allowed herself a tight smile for a moment, the strange sense of camaraderie between them for a moment.

"Uncle Qrow?" Yang's hoarse whisper came from the door, both heads snapping to her. "What are you doing here?" Even for Yang, her hair was a mess, bags more visible than normal under her eyes.

"Coffee is you want any." He gestured to the pot. "Princess made it, so I promise it's drinkable." Weiss suppressed a wince. She'd had the sludge Qrow claimed was coffee once, and then never again.

"I have a name." Weiss growled, prompting Yang to chuckle a bit. "You two are impossible." Pulling Myrtenaster from the table so Yang had a place to sit Weiss lapsed back into silence.

"Weiss?" It was ten minutes at least, before Yang spoke. The Schnee heiress turned her head exactly enough to meet her teammates eyes, but no more. "Blake and I were talking." Worry twisted into her gut at those words. It couldn't mean a single thing good. "Ren does have a point, about us knowing…" Her voice trailed off, still unwilling to acknowledge that Ruby wasn't around anymore. "I'm not saying we should go, but maybe we really should think about it?" it was hesitant, a question, which was really asking if Weiss would refuse because of Yang and Blake, or if she didn't want to go.

For a long time, Weiss didn't speak, rolling her fingers over Myrtenaster. "We don't even know for sure if they're right." A long pause. "And, is this something any of the three of us are really ready for Yang?"

The blonde was silent for a long time before answering.

 **-One More Star-**

Beacon Academy was a mockery of its former self. Most of the Grimm had been hunted down by soldiers, and the few Huntsmen and Huntresses in the city. Ironwood had covertly approached Weiss about helping, but she had refused. He had however, informed her of when they had considered the school mostly cleared of monsters.

Granted, it was still a secured area, and Weiss knew she really wasn't supposed to be there. Not that she was going to leave. Leaping the final few feet up the cliff side, she hit the metal of the landing pad with a muffled clang.

Moonlight cast the ruined arches, and fountains in sharp relief, stretching outwards. Rising, from her crouch, Weiss allowed herself a single moment to take in the site, before she started walking.

Four months had passed since the Battle of Beacon, but Weiss still found herself glancing at every shadow, double checking that no one was behind her. Every little sound made her jump, already forming plans to defend herself. Most of the time, it was just leaves, or small animals. Others, she just imagined the noises.

With every step, she could feel the weight about her shoulders growing. A cold wind hissed, it's deepening the bit of the memories that Weiss wandered through. The trees that Blake liked to read under. A half hidden little clearing that Team RWBY used to practice. That spot where Pyrrha and Jaune could usually be found sparring, high up on the roof. Another span of open roof, that had an unobstructed view of the stars, one that, on long nights without sleep, Weiss would wander up to and watch the sky from.

Beacon Tower, it's peak shattered, pieces sent flying across the campus still managed to dominating presence. Weiss bowed her head, unable to look up at that beak, instead stepping carefully through the debris field around the entrance and ducking inside.

Myrtenaster hummed a bit as she focused Aura into the blade, faint runes gathering the life, and throwing a meager portion fo light over the lobby, which was just as she had left it. A few bloodstains littered the floor, most of those, Weiss knew, were her own. The rest of the lobby, however, was largely intact, save the mangled elevator doors, and the scorch marks surrounding them.

Taking care to avoid her heels click overly much, Weiss started towards the charred and blasted stone.

 **-One More Star-**

A day later, Weiss stared down at the collected things on the bed. Dozens of Dust vials, carefully packed in shock absorbing foam. Assorted other useful supplies. Coffee. Myrtenaster. All of that, arrayed on the only she had retrieved from Beacon: a red hooded cloak.

A soft knock against the doorframe made her jump, hand flying to her weapon, before relaxing at the sight of the somewhat familiar face of Taiyang Xaio Long. "Surprised you're not packed already." It was a dull observation, just like everything else the man had said since Weiss first met him. Not that the Schnee Heiress could fault him for that, it had taken her months to manage much emotion in the wake of those events.

"Just making sure." Returning to her work, Weiss considered her next words for a long while.

Before she could speak however, he did. "Miss Schnee. I…" A rattling breath, as she slid the Dust vials into the pouch at her hip. "We haven't spoken much so I'm not really sure how to ask this...but…please keep them safe?" A pleading note entered his voice. Blake and Yang. It was painfully obvious that were one went the other would follow, these days. Something in Weiss's chest twisted, staring down at the cloak on the bed. The shade was lighter than blood, just only just, meaning one had to look closely in order to see the stains on it from…that. "I…I can't lose anyone else." He sounded every bit as broken as Weiss knew he looked. The horrific thought that it took the idea of losing Yang to drag emotions from his flitted through Weiss.

The last of her things packed, Weiss reached down, lifting that cloak, pulling it close to her chest. Strawberries, gunpowder, and a multitude of other scents had long since entwined themselves in the fabric. "You won't." Face buried in the Fabric, Weiss didn't know what kept her voice from cracking. All her energy went into keeping her shoulders from shaking, tears from breaking out.

A strangled thank you came from the doorway, then footsteps, fading away slowly.

With a soft thump, Weiss's knee's gave way, and she collapsed face first into the bed, sobbing quietly.

 **AN: So….welcome to a thingie. I have no idea what the impetus for this thing was, it just…happened. Most of it in a giant rush, that I'm regretting heavily as it enters the editing phase. Still, it's a thing. Should be Four? releases total... Five releases now. I just made an executive change literally minutes before posting to make chapter length a little more event. Nice and quick like. Or not. Who knows. Editing is revealing some weird stuff that I did that needs…help… but it's moving apace. So...yay rah for that. For anyone that reads my fire emblem stuff, the style here is similar to From the Pages of History, although written far less adeptly, I think. Next releases should be shorter, this one ended up this long by necessity.**

 **Reviews, feedback, general thoughts are always appreciated. This ends up in a very unusual style for me, despite having used it before, so any thoughts are welcome. Feel free to shoot thoughts about the plot my way as well.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Save Me From the Things I See**

"This is as far as I can take you." The airship pilot seemed quite apologetic about that fact, or, to be more accurate, about losing out on Weiss's money. She'd paid him an amount that, in any other time would have amounted to blatant robbery to get them as far as this, and had the man not had other commitments, perhaps they could have gone farther. Her Father's ill-gotten gains had to be put to use somehow, and if he wasn't going to go so far as to cut her off from his money, that was his own fault. Not that she cared. The others, that is to say Jaune and Coco's teams did, each seeming to have hoped for further travel before having to walk. Weiss, Yang and Blake just offered the pilot nods as they disembarked.

The forests were quiet, seeming to accept the arrival of almost a dozen Huntsman and Huntresses without complaint. Glancing around, Weiss's hand gripped Myrtenaster tighter, unwanted tension balling between her shoulders. So many places they might be attacked from. Every instinct screamed about possible danger as the Schnee Heiress swept her gaze across the shadowed trees.

"Glad that's over…." Jaune mumbled, swaying a bit. Apparently airsickness was not something that could be recovered from with age, which Weiss considered to be unfortunate. She had no desire to see a reenactment of the incident that had gotten him the moniker of Vomit Boy from Yang.

"We need to get moving." Ren spoke up, his relatively unfamiliar tone direct, but calming, even for Weiss's frazzled nerves. "There should be a town nearby here we can attempt to find a place to stay." Weiss found that suggestion far more appealing than camping in the forest, somewhere where anything might have lurked in the trees. "And help us avoid the local Grimm population."

"I doubt any Grimm are going to pick a fight with a group of us this big." Velvet pointed out, the entire group following Ren's lead down a relatively defined path.

"They will." Yang's words were more of a growl than anything. "and it'll be the nastier ones to boot." Yang's words served as no comfort to Weiss, who was fully aware that her teammate was in the best position to know what might await them in the trees. The island of Patch wasn't exactly free from the hostile creatures that stalked the world, and Yang and Ruby both had fought plenty of them on their own time, well before Weiss first met them.

With that ominous proclamation in mind, the rest of the walk was in silence. Weiss pulled Ruby's cloak around herself, trying to blot out at least some of the wind. The creeping void inside was growing again, and there wasn't much warmth to blot it out in the middle of the woods.

 **-One More Star-**

To Weiss's immense surprise, their journey was relatively calm. What conversation did happen was quiet; everyone seeming lost in their thoughts. Or, that's what Weiss thought for a time.

The ninth day was when she noticed it. Yang was pummeling another tree, she was still getting used to her prosthetic, spending hours every night practicing. Blake was watching from nearby, eyes flitting around Yang's form. What drew Weiss's eyes though, was a small motion on the ground. Everyone else was sleeping, ostensibly, sleeping, until closer inspection. Velvet rolled over, arms shifting just a little bit to carefully.

Since then, every night, there was at least one person awake at all times. Once she knew what they were doing, Weiss didn't have any issue spotting them. It wasn't as if she hadn't done the same thing they had, in the past. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the constant watching, it wasn't as if she was going to up and disappear or anything like that, or, not without Yang and Blake at least.

It had been a week since that Weiss first made that observation. During that time, she had contemplated revealing that she knew what they were up too. In the end, she had chosen not to: it didn't matter.

Two weeks of travel had carried them into an even more heavily forested area, one that left Weiss regretting agreeing to this trip in the first place. Or at least, taking the first person willing to fly them, instead of hunting down a flight all the way to Mistral.

Branches rustled, and hands snapped to weapons, and Weiss's focus returned to the present. There was a pause, before, following a tremendous roar an Ursa came charging forth. Just as they always did, the other teams jumped back, grabbing for weapons. Reactionary, defensive measures. Weiss flicked her wrist, barely giving any thought to the effects she wanted from the glyph. By the time Yang and Blake drew even with her, already preparing their own strike, it was over.

With meaty thunk, the spike of ice buried itself in the Grimm's skull, sinking almost ten inches into bone and brains. Three more of the monsters, emboldened by their comrade's death followed suite. They met the same fate, spears of ice blasted right between their eyes.

Lowering her weapon, Weiss prepared to keep walking. Weak Grimm, barely worth giving consideration too, and hardly worth stopping. It was all a matter of approach. However, a voice from the tree-line brought her up short.

"Oh, bravo, bravo. It seems you kids really are the real deal." From the shadows, a group of somewhat slovenly dressed men and women appeared. All of their faces were obscured, most of them holding rather crude weapons, although Weiss had to admit her standards for weapon quality were somewhat tainted by the rapier in her hand, and her teammates weaponry. Having a weapons fanatic for a partner gave you some strange ideas of what constituted 'good' weapons.

"Now, let's make this simple." A woman this time. In front of Weiss, and two people left in the circle. "You all drop anything remotely valuable, and we'll let you keep walking."

"Or…" another leered, as best he could behind his mask. Right: three people. Weiss zeroed in on him, her feet already shifting, every motion coming from long practice. "A few of you girlies show us a good time…and we might let you just go on your way?"

Shouts of outrage from her companions. Yang and Blake had stepped up beside her, weapons readied. For the second time in her life, Weiss felt something bubble up inside her. This time, it wasn't the white hot, instant feeling from _that_ night, instead this was a cold and calculated one, the knowledge that she was capable, and she wouldn't hesitate if her hand was forced.

"Or, you leave now." Frost formed beneath her feet as Weiss took a step forwards, although she didn't realize at the time. Myrtenaster extending forwards as she faced the one who spoke last. "And you live." Several of the bandits in her view flinched, just as she thought they might. Threats were easy, actions were harder.

"Heheheh, good joke girlie." The man laughed, until he met her eyes. What little of his face was visible paled considerably, an involuntary step back following quickly behind. She held his stare without flinching, the small effort of will to conjure the glyphs around her detracting little from her intent, and as the man backpedaled, she knew it showed.

"She's just one girl!" Eight people, to the left. A man. With a deliberate slowness, she dragged her gaze across the circle, meeting the eyes of every single person, until settling on the speaker. He flinched, eyes widening as fear took over.

A small twitch, and the spear of ice jumped forwards, slicing off a lock of his hair. "There won't be a next time." Years of dealing with her own Father, seeing him intimidate, cajole, and terrify those around him into submission had not been wasted, in those few seconds. The man who she'd narrowly spared death turned and ran, weapon clattering to the ground as he did. A few others seemed ready to stick it out and fight, but when she took another step forwards, her fingers twitching, they turned tail and bolted.

It wasn't for another two hours, when the group made camp that anyone spoke another word, or Weiss let go of her weapon. Sitting around the fire, she clutched the coffee she had made for herself, Ruby's cloak pulled tight over her shoulders, trying to push out the rest of the world. Even the scalding drink wasn't warming her up this time.

"Weiss?" to her immense surprise, it was Fox who spoke up. Her head snapped to him, gaze sharpening. To his credit the young man didn't flinch under her intense scrutiny, causing her estimation of him to rise a few bars. "Would you really have killed them?"

It was the question that had been building all day, Weiss knew. All of them, except maybe Yang and Blake wondered it. Would she have killed? If so, how could she bring herself to do that? With the exception of Cardin, no-one at Beacon seemed to enjoy hurting people, and even Cardin didn't try and kill, just torment. To them, the idea of ending a person's life was outrageous, something that shouldn't even be considered.

Weiss took a sip of coffee, scalding her tongue in the process. A campfire was no substitute for technology it seemed; it wasn't hard as good. Her gaze remained locked to Fox, who seemed content to wait as long as she would take to give an answer. Not that such an answer was complicated. She could, and, would, have killed them.

There was no satisfaction in that thought, of ending human lives.

But if she had too, Weiss knew she could. A simple flick, and a thought, and they would die. Swift, painless, and effective. She would live with the consequences if they came. Unlike…then…, she knew what she was doing, without any doubt. Perhaps she should have felt remorse.

Seconds stretched into minutes, the camp resting on baited breath for Weiss to give some kind of reply. Her head tilted to the side, expression never changing.

Velvet gave a strangled gasp, and Fox's eyes dropped.

No one asked her any questions after that.

 **-One More Star-**

"Weiss." It was Yang, pulling herself onto the rooftop, blonde hair surprisingly bright in the moonlight. "What brings you up here?"

"Can't sleep." Nightmares, once again. Although there had been no more incidents with bandits, the undercurrent of worry was still there; the question of, would Weiss have killed them, left partially answered weighing on the others. It was an endless frustration, the stares, the worry, the confusion. Change had happened, to all of them after Beacon, and their friends weren't sure what ot make of that change in Weiss.

"Yeah, nightmare's suck." Yang dropped down on her left. Weiss's eyes widened. How did Yang know? "We've both been through some shit. Me?" Yang held up her arm. "You?" She sighed. "Whatever the fuck happened on the tower." The blonde sighed. The unspoken injury Blake had suffered.

"I'm sorry." It was the first time Weiss had said it, even though the words should have happened months ago. Yang grunted metallic hand waving a bit in a dismissive gesture.

"Don't blame you. Neither does Dad." For a while they were quiet again. Far above, stars twinkled, beautifully unconcerned with their lives. "Cinder was…Uncle Qrow said she'd done something horrible made herself inhumanly powerful. I've seen the pictures, from the tower. Only person to blame is Cinder and…" Yang trailed off, a bit of coldness and rage creeping into her voice. "She got what she deserved."

Weiss felt her throat constrict. It wasn't hard to figure out, if anyone really thought about it, but to actually hear the reality of what she had done voiced remained chilling. The feeling of flesh giving way to metal, the heavy impact on the stones. The faces, frozen forever in her nightmares, explosions, the screams, drifting up from far below.

Guilt flooded in, and Weiss turned away, unable to look at her teammate. "I'm sorry." The whisper came again, cracking just a little as a fresh wave of emotions rose up. Her eyes screwed shut, pushing away at the tears, if only for a little while. She wouldn't cry.

Yang didn't say anything, and Weiss found herself wishing that other girl would. Some distant broken part of her would have been okay with hatred. Fear. Anything, to replace the creeping void inside her.

 **-One More Star-**

"There's Mistral!" Nora's excited shout cut through the fog of travel with ease. A cheer went through the group at the sight of their destination, and the promise of warm beds, and food. Despite her best efforts, Weiss couldn't bring herself to share the level of excitement. That said, the idea of sleeping on something besides solid rock was encouraging.

"Almost there." Jaune smiled in relief. "About time. Thought we'd be walking forever." With that, he led the way down the mountains, the rest of the group following, before breaking into a light jog, no doubt hoping to cover the rest of the distance faster. With a sigh, Weiss followed suite, throwing a little focus into accelerating their run with a burst of glyphs.

Mistral represented the first step of the journey. Convincing Professor Lionheart was next, and Weiss expected that to be substantially harder. They had little evidence to support any of their claims, besides the supposed point of origin of Cinder's lackeys. No doubt, someone would expect to hear exactly what happened during the Fall of Beacon, if they hadn't already.

Taking a jumping step around a boulder, Weiss threw another line of glyphs. She wasn't quite ready to step into the world of stares, the half-hidden glances, attempts to disguise their fear, their concerns, the rumors they had heard. Then again, it didn't matter if she was ready. They were here, and her readiness didn't matter. Besides that, she wasn't about to let Yang and Blake go off there without her.

 **-One More Star-**

"Can I help you?" Weiss glared at the boy, perhaps he was fourteen if he was lucky, over the top of her coffee. While the drink didn't bring any of its usual warmth, to push back at the every growing cold inside her, Weiss found it more comforting than whatever the others did to distract themselves from the waiting. Jaune and Ren had gone to try and arrange a meeting with Lionheart, leaving everyone else to just…wait.

The boy gulped, shrinking under the penetrating stare. Weiss guessed he was a farmhand of some sort from his clothing. Hopefully, he'd go away, and leave her in peace. She'd finally managed to escape the stares in the streets, as though everyone knew Weiss Schnee, and the idea she was walking down their street was entirely alien. "I'm supposed to tell you…" he trailed off, head turning to the side a bit, eyes misting over. "Yes, I know." The mumble caught her attention, as though he was talking to someone else, despite no one else being there. "I'm supposed to tell you 'I'm sorry, and please forgive an old man's mistakes.'" There was nothing of value in those words, the sort of apology that came from the mouth of a person not directly involved with the events being apologized for.

The cup hit the table harder than was strictly required. "What are you talking about." Bits of frost were spiraling out from the tips of her fingers, tiny glyphs spinning there, if one knew to look for them.

"I said this would happen." The boy mumbled again, this time, as if to whoever else he was talking too, and to Weiss as well. There were several seconds of quiet, before he shook his head, and sighed. "I'm Oscar."

Well, it was at least nice to have a name to put with his face, although her limited patience was exhausted, and a polite reply was out of the question. "Weiss." Hopefully he'd get the message and go away. She didn't have the time, or the patience to deal with some kid who wasn't…all there.

"Yeah." More seconds of silence. "I…um…that is… someone named Ozpin told me to tell you that." The words spilled in a rush. Weiss suppressed a snort. A cute try, but wasn't going to change anything.

"Professor Ozpin is dead." Forced calm settled around her words, shoulders setting, stiff and unmoving. The boy blinked, taken aback by her bluntness. "I saw his corpse." Or what had been left of his corpse.

Paleness crept into well-tanned checks. Definitely younger then, to be so unsettled by the idea of death and bodies. Or very sheltered. "Yeah. He said you might mention that." Her eyes narrowed.

"And how might he have done that?" Ghosts were not a thing, except in bad horror movies, and there hadn't been a documented case of someone who could talk to the dead in centuries.

The boy scowled. "He's stuck in my head or something." What? Incredulity flashed across her face. "Yeah, I know." Weiss had to admit that, if nothing else, he seemed unsettled enough by that thought. It wasn't enough to convince her of a thing he said, but was a start. "I don't get it, but I know stuff I shouldn't know. Like what the Headmaster's office at Haven looks like. Or that you're Weiss Schnee, a part of Team RWBY, whatever that is. Or that Ozpin was killed by someone named Cinder Fall. And a bunch of other crazy stuff." His gaze dropped. "I'm not sure what Ozpin means about mistakes though."

Weiss was. Frost spread further across the table as her emotions roiled.

"Tell him that isn't going to happen." Pushing her chair back, she swept out of the room, trying to maintain some level of composure. The only thing that kept her steady was the knowledge that, regardless of anything else, it wasn't the boys fault. Even so, under the folds of red, her fists shook.

Ozpin though…

 **-One More Star-**

A knock on the door preceded Velvet stepping into the room. Weiss didn't bother glaring, knowing it wasn't worth the effort… and would have been uncalled for. Not to mention, it wasn't Jaune, meaning still not answer from Lionheart.

"Can we talk Weiss?" The rabbit Faunus was wringing her hands, eyes flitting around the room, everywhere except where Weiss was, as though the Schnee heiress was somehow going to lash out. Although, considering how they treated her, Weiss knew that was what they expected. A burst of unrestrained violence, without warning or explanations.

"About what?" Despite having run out of patience with people for the day, something was obviously bothering Velvet. Further, she knew that, even amongst those Faunus she could count as friends, some of her reputations persisted, making a bit of a surprise that Velvet was even here at all, without one of her teammates, at least. Coupled with the reality that the rabbit Faunus was probably the most kindhearted remaining member of their little group, and given the probably subject of conversation, Weiss expected this to be more than a little awkward.

"We're worried about you Weiss." Well, that's nice of them, but she didn't need their worry, or pity. "You're…well you're kinda scary. Threatening to kill people and stuff." What did Velvet expect her to say? That she was sorry? There was a pause, and the Faunus girl taking a shuddering breath. "I don't think the others really know how to take that idea." The use of others caught Weiss's attention, dragging her stare to the other girl. Was Velvet really implying… "If you're going to kill people like that…I'm not really sure I'd care." Either it was a rehearsed speech, or the question has shone in her eyes.

There was a long second, as those words sank in. "You wouldn't care if I killed someone." Rasping disbelief filled Weiss's tone. Velvet Scarletina, the shy, quiet, wallflower, willing to overlook her killing someone. Of all the people she knew, Weiss would have least expected Velvet to utter those words. After a bit thought, Weiss decided that, if she expected anyone to be okay with it, it would have Coco. Not Velvet. Definitely not Velvet. Maybe Yang. Maybe.

"No." She didn't stammer either, or flinch under Weiss's stare. "They're rapists and monsters Weiss. It'd be self-defense if they wanted to fight." Weiss didn't say anything, that twisting mess, just waiting. Velvet gulped again, despite the gravity of the conversation topic, not quite ready to talk so much at once. "I don't know if anyone else figure it out, but you killed Cinder." Weiss flinched, lips thinning at the mention. "It's a good thing Weiss. She killed Pyrrha and Ruby. You killing her was a good thing." Those words didn't deserve to be said with such earnestness.

Weiss didn't answer, unable to bring herself to agree with that assessment.

"We have a problem!" Someone called from down the stairs, saving either young woman from further contemplation of a painful topic. Heavy thumping footfalls as someone climbed the stairs of the inn. "A big problem." Softer, but still carrying.

With a sigh, Weiss pushed herself out of bed, grabbing Myrtenaster and following Velvet into the hallway. A sense of impending dread started to form as they followed Jaune and Ren into their room at the far end of the room. She had anticipated some form of problem, that was a fact of life, just didn't have much of a reference point for how bad the problem would be.

"You're never going to guess who we stumbled upon on the way up to the School." Jaune dropped onto his bed with an exasperated sigh, the rest piling into the room around him. Further dread wormed into Weiss's chest, settling in around the emptiness. "Weiss's sister."

Weiss schooled her features to be blank. She hadn't spoken to Winter since they had last met at Beacon, and even then, it was impossible to know where her sister might have ended up as a result of the military. So it was possible that Winter would be here, but she couldn't say for sure. Five months ago, Weiss might have been offended her sister didn't come find her. Now… just like so many other things in her life, Weiss found nothing at the bottom of the basket when she went searching for those old emotions.

"According to her, Professor Lionheart is working with someone named Watts, whose apparently in league with whoever Cinder answered to." Weiss's blood chilled. What? The Headmaster here was…not an ally? Jaune gulped, settling his heavy chest. "And the White Fang is going to attacking soon. They're trying to repeat what happened at Beacon." As everyone's eyes widened, shouts of surprise filling the room, Weiss felt the cold settle into her stomach, tendrils spreading out to her limbs.

Her fingers curled tighter on her rapier. The cold backed away.

 **-One More Star-**

It was pandemonium. Grimm were rampaging in the streets, aided by white masked…people, even though Weiss hated to use the term. Here and there, some fought back, the explosions of black mist signaling the end of an occasional Grimm, but such patches of resistance were few and far between, and were put down quickly and efficiently by the White Fang soldiers.

No words were necessary. She stepped into the street, rapier gripped tight. Ice Dust. The chamber whirled, settling in the correct spot. Ruby's cloak pulled tight around her, Weiss took a single breath, before grabbing hold of that void inside, and for the first time since the Fall of Beacon, embracing it. She didn't see the worried glances, from Blake and Yang, as she led the way down the cobbles.

"There!" White Fang charged, weapons raised, war cries on their lips.

Icicles exploded under the first, impaling him midstride. A moment later, they shattered, sending shard flying, ripping the next two apart. Number three stumbled back, impaling himself on the fourth one's blade. That one only had a second of mortal terror before a Beowolf jumped on him, ripping his head off in a single bite. Splinters of ice flew at a single gesture, and the Grimm dissolved, revealing the final White Fang soldier, stumbling back, the same ice spike that had ended the Grimm driven through his heart.

The entire process took two and a half seconds.

She kept walking. Blood squelched under her boots.

At the first intersection, they found a few soldiers. At the next a few more, and so it went. Whatever resistance the Fang tried to give, they never seemed to anticipate lethal force, and she capitalized, glyphs spinning, letting fly spikes of ice. Each life ended in a low gurgle as she walked past. Her teammates sent looks of fear into her back. The soldiers stared in awe and respect. She ignored them both. Combat was not the time for feelings.

She had killed forty-seven White Fang when they reached the entrance to Haven Academy. Piles of corpses lines the walkway, blood running freely. The defenders, many of them just students, had fought hard, but in the end, fell, one by one.

"Dust…" A soldier mumbled from her right side. "So many…."

"We need to keep moving. Catch up with them." Blake mumbled. Weiss gave an absent nod. The lull in combat had allowed the bile in her throat to come back with a vengeance. Gurgling whimpers filled her ears, the screams of terror. In the frigid expression of the dead, she could see the still faces of her recent victims, sprawled out in the streets, masks knocked loose, sitting amidst the pooling blood.

Without a word, Weiss started walking, seeking to get away, to find something to pull her mind out of the depths it was falling into. There was a vague awareness of people following her further into the grounds, but looking back meant seeing bodies.

"Stop them!" More White Fang charged from the rubble.

Myrtenaster came up, flicking gently. Glyphs spiraled to life, spears of ice hurling forth. A few were blocked, most struck home, their targets falling in gurgling denials and shock. One of those who did block lunged, brandishing a spear twice as tall as she was. Blake blinked forwards, deflected the strike upwards, and almost without a thought, she stepped forwards, thrusting her blade through the man's heart.

She didn't watch the life leave his eyes. She'd made that mistake already.

"Well done!" Soft clapping. Her attention turned to a man, fashionably dressed in a suit, smiling affably from the main entrance to the building itself. "I confess, I didn't think I would ever get to meet the girl who killed Cinder, but I am most pleased to make your acquaintance." Shouts of shock, demands for him to move flew from the crowd. "Now now, all of you are but a sideshow. She," He pointed, "Is the one I'm interested in. After all, not many people can kill a Maiden…"

The earth beneath him flared with an arcane symbol for the barest fraction of a second, before exploding in a pillar of flames. There was no time for talking. If he was in league with Cinder, she felt no regrets.

 **-One More Star-**

She was panting, on her knees. Something hot and sticky trickled down her left leg, there was no feeling in the opposite arm. Her vision swam a bit; tears came away when she rubbed at her eyes.

Everywhere showed signs of battle. Explosions blast the earth, portions of stone were scorched an amazing shade of black, lightning or fire having been turned lose in tremendous amounts. Blood too, in places, drops flung everywhere. A faint haze hung in the air, clinging to any bits of exposed skin.

Myrtenaster acting as a crutch, Weiss Schnee stood, limbs shaking for exhaustion. Across the blasted and shattered courtyard, that man knelt. He was clutching his stomach, bleeding from one of a myriad of complicated glyphs and Dust concoctions Weiss had thrown his way. Her first step was shaky, legs begging to give way, but slowly, step by step, inch by inch, she hobbled forwards.

"Most impressive." The man looked up at her, eyes narrowed, as though in anticipation. "You are far more skilled than I-"

He had helped Cinder Fall. He had helped destroyed Beacon. He had helped hurt Blake. He had helped hurt Yang. He had helped hurt _Ruby_.

With a muffled thump, the headless corpse of Arthur Watts struck the paving stones, only seconds before Weiss Schnee lost consciousness.

* * *

 **AN: And… that's 'part 1' of the story. I'm sorry Weiss… even if it doesn't seem like it.**

 **Reviews, questions, concerns are always appreciated. Especially for a thing like this, where I will only claim about a 40% knowledge of what I'm doing. Any thoughts on the more 'actiony' sequences would be great, did something different than I usually do**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fear of what's inside of me**

Soft snoring was the first thing that Weiss heard.

"Weiss." The second, was Winter. Blinking her eyes open, the Schnee Heiress turned her head, taking in the concerned expression of her sister. It was only the second or third time Weiss could recall her old sister seeming genuinely concerned for her well-being, and the first in which she wasn't sure what had happened to elicit such a feeling. "How are you feeling?"

Weiss frowned, just a bit. How did she feel? What even had happened? She had fought that Watts person, destroyed the courtyard. He was…unbelievably skilled. Weiss wasn't sure how she had survived, let alone proven victorious. Then again, as injured as she had been, barely able to stand, drained of Aura, it was hardly a victory. Her injuries seemed to have been healed, at least, nothing sticky was coating her leg any more, although her skirt was bloodstained. She'd probably stained Ruby's cloak even more too.

"I'm alright." Her throat scratched, and she accepted the proffered water with a small smile of thanks. Winter's expression suggested that she didn't believe Weiss for a moment, although the older sister remained quiet, for the time being.

Taking a moment to glance around, Weiss was surprise to see Yang curled up in the corner, having found a way to sleep in a desk chair, apparently using just her hair for a pillow. Blake had stolen the couch, and was also asleep, ears twitching a bit, as though dreaming.

"They haven't left since you were brought here." Winter followed her gaze. "You have very dedicated teammates." She paused, bending down to retrieve a neatly folded patch of red cloth. "Miss Belladonna told me to give this to you when you woke up." Almost before Winter finished the sentence, Weiss grabbed what she already knew was Ruby's cloak, laying the neatly folded garment to the side, before grasping for Myrtenaster. Her fingers came up empty, the blade not in its customary spot.

Panic started to worm its way in, even as Weiss fought it down again. "Winter." All of her control went into a level voice, and even then, her sister's name wavered. "Where is my rapier?" The elder Schnee blinked at the seeming non-sequitur, taking a few seconds longer than was tolerable to answer. "Where is it?" A demanding note entered her voice.

"Miss Belladonna has it I believe, although I imagine you need to rest, not worry about where you weapon is." Winter's confusion was evident, only magnified as Weiss sat up, although the younger Schnee barely noticed. Spying the case for her weapon at the foot of the couch, Weiss swung her legs of the bed. The muscles protested taking her slight weight, but at that very moment, it didn't matter. She needed to have her weapon close, that desire overpowering all others. Every step was an effort, even just crossing the short distance of a hospital room.

Her knees at last gave way, adrenaline and terror and weakness no long enough to remain upright. Slumping sideways, Weiss's heart continued to spike, pounding faster and faster. Fingers grasped for the clips on the case, fumbling before popping them. Her vision was swimming in and out of focus as her fingers grasped the chilled steel, heartrate falling off precipitously. For a moment, everything was in focus, and then there was blackness.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

 _There was an explosion of light from the top of the tower, distracting her for a single second. A second she didn't have, except, as that light washed over the Grimm, they turned to stone where they stood, her rapier bouncing off their suddenly rigid flesh._

 _"Ruby…" Turning, Weiss frowned, glancing up towards the top of the tower. She trusted Ruby, but something that could turn Grimm to stone? And Jaune had sounded absolutely panicked in his call, for whatever reason. Surely though, Ruby and Pyrrha could handle Cinder? The two of them were among the most skilled first year's students at Beacon…_

 _Although Weiss didn't like to admit it, Ruby probably had the most combat experience than anyone she knew. Despite her headstrong impulses, the younger girl was more that capable of smashing through most Grimm through a combination of brute force, and on the fly tactical 'genius'. She knew her weapon, and her own abilities in ways that Weiss, for all her training, and technical knowhow simply didn't. As had been slammed home time and time again, technical knowledge and training meant very little in combat where life was at stake._

 _Fire blossomed from the tower, flying outwards for a considerable distance, shepherding a deafening boom. There was only a moment of hesitation during which Weiss glanced at the chamber of her rapier. The Dust vials were depleted, but more than enough for what she needed to do._

 _White light swirled beneath her feet, and she jumped. Another focus, and she landed, knees bending, leaping upwards again. Two hundred feet to the top of the tower, twelve feet per jump, seventeen jumps. Twisting as she jumped to compensate for the poor placement of her glyph, Weiss pushed down a rising swirl of fear, before springing upwards again._

 _Above, explosions and the clash of metal sounded, the muffled crash of Crescent Rose driving into stone with incredible force preceding a flare of rose petals went flying over the edge of the tower. Illuminated by another plume of fire, the remnants of Ruby's Semblance were visible even from several dozen feet below. Her grip on Myrtenaster tightened._

 _Another jump. Fire howled, hot enough to be felt even from so far down._

 _Another jump. Silence now, air seeming to hang on baited breath for what was to come._

 _Another jump. One more remaining. Weiss's heart was hammering, brain racing left and right with possible actions she might take the instant her feet hit the ground. The ephemeral surface of the glyph was solid beneath her feet, knees coiling and uncoiling, throwing herself upwards, some detached number crunching voice telling her it was eight and a half feet vertically to the lip of the tower, her actual jump would be more than two feet higher than that, at the bottom of her feet._

 _She crested the lip of the tower._

 _Cinder, the strange 'student' from Haven, wearing a mini-dress rather than her normal garb, had her back turned. Fingers, wreathed in fire grasped her weapon, a longbow, drawn, arrow pointed straight at Ruby's chest._

 _Ruby, was unlike anything Weiss had ever seen. Aura poured off her younger teammate, cloak flapping wildly in some kind of breeze. Crescent Rose was leveled at Cinder's heart. Her eyes were molten, shinning so bright that, even as Weiss landed, Ruby's form becoming obscured by her opponent, the light radiating off remained visible._

 _There was a tremendous bang._

 _Weiss felt the bullet slash past her ear. Hot blood splattered across her face, staining her dress, sticking to her hands. Bits of flesh hit the ground, before a heavier impact. Gurgling strangled laughter bubbled from Cinder._

 _Weiss was only vaguely aware of any of that, as Ruby slumped to the side, eyes dimming, the projectile buried in her chest still quivering._

 _Nothing mattered in that second as her attention shifted to Cinder Fall. Weiss didn't see the destroyed remains of the woman's shoulder. Weiss didn't see the blood dripping from her face, or the fact she wouldn't live. She didn't see the deranged laughter in the woman's eyes. She didn't even see the blood._

 _Myrtenaster's chamber spun, clicking into place, rising up in her hand._

 _There was less resistance than she might have expected, as the blade bit deep into flesh, white energy coursing down the sharpened metal, honing lethal precision to preternatural levels._

 _A second thump._

 _Weiss Schnee looked down at the slowly pooling blood of Cinder Fall, and realized far too late she didn't feel a thing._

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

Winter's expression was once again the first thing Weiss saw upon regaining consciousness. This time, cool metal pressed into the palm of her hand; fingers curled around the hilt of the rapier keeping her heart from racing out of turn.

"Weiss?" Concern dripped from Winter's tone. Behind her sister, Yang and Blake was leaning on each other, looking on the window, but the way Blake's ears were turned told Weiss that the Faunus was listening, and probably would tell Yang anything that blonde couldn't hear herself.

The Schnee heiress returned her attention to her sister. "I'm fine Winter." Narrowed eyes, and thinned lips suggested that she didn't by the lie for a second.

"You aren't fine Princess." Yang cut in, voice rougher than normal. "You're anything but fine." Her teammate didn't turn from the window, her prosthetic hand clenching hard. "I don't know what it is, but you're so far from fine."

Blake picked up the thread before Weiss could formulate a proper response.

"You're pushing yourself too hard Weiss. You barely sleep, you're always do something, training, planning, learning, working, whatever. I don't think we've seen you take a break for months." Blake paused. "I think this is the longest you've slept since…" She trailed off, before shaking her head. "Coffee and willpower will only get so far, before you just…shut down."

"I fine." She bit the words out, forcing the instinctive snarl down. Distantly, Weiss was aware her teammates meant well, and it was only that knowledge that kept her from lashing out.

Blake snorted. "Weiss. I seem to recall insisting I was fine, right up until I wasn't, with the whole Torchwick thing." A long sigh. "Right after…Beacon…" Right after Weiss had to drag Blake kicking and screaming back to them, "I know you drove yourself basically to exhaustion every day so you could sleep, and only slept about three hours a night, before just sitting up and stewing in your thoughts until it was time to try and fake having been asleep."

Weiss found she was too tired, or just not in control enough in that moment to keep shock from flashing her face. She hadn't realized that it had been that obvious.

"We both noticed." Yang nodded, expression twisting into amusement. "We get what you were doing, and we appreciate it…but damnit Weiss." Yang slumped into the window-well.

Winter picked up the thread smoothly. "You have to take care of yourself Weiss." Her sister's voice took on a sharper note, chastising her as if Weiss was a child again. "And not go suicidaly picking fights." Weiss bristled, opened her mouth to retort, but Winter cut her off, gaze razor-edged. "Just because you won the fight doesn't mean that you should have picked it."

"I'd hardly call that a win." Yang snapped from the window. "I'm the one who gets beat up on purpose Weiss, not you!" For the first time, Yang turned to face her, and Weiss jerked back at the tears staining her teammates cheeks. "You were minutes away from _dying!"_

Oh. Weiss gulped, trying to remember what exactly had happened. Most of the fighting was a blur of explosions and lightning, hastily summoned creatures being destroyed only a moment later. A few moments of excruciating pain stood out, and the final moments, where she had...she had killed him. She had killed a lot of them.

Tears slid down Weiss's cheeks: she didn't feel much of anything.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

Her teammates had left, and it was well into the night when Winter came back. The expression on the older woman's face struck Weiss as unusually saddened. Winter sank into the edge of the hospital bed, her eyes lingering on the way Weiss's hand gripped the hilt of her rapier, the blade resting across the younger Schnee's lap.

For a long time, neither sister said anything, just sitting there, eyes locked on the weapon that had ended two lives, and by the instrument through which Weiss killed even more White Fang during the battle leading up.

"Am I supposed to just feel empty?" Weiss broke the silence, as she suspected both of them knew would happen. Winter didn't answer, head bowing just a bit more.

"He wasn't the first person you killed." That, Weiss knew was obvious. There was no doubt that Winter had asked the others, and had heard about the fighting up in Atlas. Or maybe a soldier had told her. Regardless, Weiss saw no need to say anything. "Arthur Watts. He's been someone we've been hunting for quite some time." Her sister's expression betrayed nothing, giving no indication as to her thoughts on the matter. "Rumor has it that you were there when Cinder Fall was struck down." Weiss remained silent. "I'm not entirely clueless Weiss. Even out here, I heard what happened." For a moment Weiss hoped her sister wasn't going to repeat it, she relieved those moments often enough, there was no need to say what happened yet another time. "You killed Cinder Fall, just as Cinder killed your teammate." Not for the first time, Weiss cursed the highly effective intelligence network Atlas possessed.

A shuddering breath. "Yes." There was no use denying that she had finished killing Cinder. It wasn't as if the woman would have survived the wounds she'd taken in the battle against Ruby. "She hurt Ruby."

If Winter made note of that particular phrasing, she didn't mention it. "And since, you've not felt safe without a weapon in your hand, or nearby, and you don't feel anything when you think about having killed people?" Weiss nodded.

"It's more just…emptiness in general." She admitted. "Like a part of me is missing." Because, of course, a part of her was missing. "And all that's left in it's place cold." That same feeling swirling just beneath the surface even now.

"I'm sorry." Winter sighed, her gaze falling to the tiles. Weiss didn't blame her sister, honestly she didn't blame anyone but Cinder, and those pulling her strings. "That should never have happened."

For a few minutes, Weiss didn't reply. "What's done is done Winter." She took a sharp breath. "I'm cold now Winter." Her fingers clenched around Myrtenaster, knuckles whitening. "Just cold."

Winter didn't have anything to say that to that. Weiss hadn't really expected her too. Her sister might have been a soldier, but them hadn't been a war for almost a century. Winter wouldn't have had to try and kill anyone.

Weiss missed the single tear falling down her sister's cheek.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

Beacon slowly loomed into view from the window of the airship. Despite having had a small war fought on its campus only a few short months ago, the majority of the school looked to be in good shape. Most the Grimm statues remained, with the exception of the Dragon, which Weiss had seen get sheared off the side of the tower in the weeks after the battle, and later dropped off a cliff and shattered. She found it a fitting end for the monster.

She pulled Ruby's cloak tight around her shoulders, trying to ignore the subtle glances being shot her way in the reflections. Professor Goodwitch had decided that the school was in good enough shape to reopen, and accept new students. To that end, she had reached out to the various previous students, at least the ones who had not already transferred, and based on the crowd inhabiting the airship, Weiss was fairly certain most had agreed to come back. A few new faces were mixed into the gaggle as well, even if she ignored most of those.

Beneath the low rumble of voices, there was an obvious questioning undercurrent, most of it directed towards her, not that such a thing surprised Weiss. She had gone from being well known for her last name, to being well known as the last person to stumble, covered in blood, and weeping, from the ruins of Beacon during the evacuation. She was rumored to have killed the person who led the attack; although none of the students could confirm that, even if the older students would take the fact she was wearing Ruby's cloak as a tacit admission. The fact she hadn't been wearing said cloak when she emerged notwithstanding.

"Thinking deep thoughts?" Yang came to stand beside her, boots thumping heavily on the floor.

Weiss gave a small shrug. None of the three of them were really sure they could stay at Beacon long term. To many painful memories left over now. Yang had lost her sister. They'd all lost a friend, suffered injuries. "I'm not sure I'm going to stay." Weiss wasn't sure she could stay; at the same time, she wasn't sure if leaving as possible either. They were all tied here, by some invisible force, just as surely as invisible hands sought to push them away.

Blake they knew, wanted to go back home, at least for a while. Weiss had no desire to even speak to her Father again, not after their fight after the disaster months ago. She didn't regret anything that was said, and, unless something drastic changed, Weiss doubted she ever would. Yang…Weiss wasn't sure. Yang would probably go with Blake, if Blake headed back home. All of that, though, hinged on what they did in the next few hours.

"They could try and be more subtle." Blake joined them as the airship came into the landing pad, throwing glares back towards the other students, especially the new ones, who evidently bought more into the rumors about their involvement in Haven than they should have. Or maybe exactly as much as they should.

Weiss just grunted, fingers curling over the hilt of her rapier. Whatever people thought had stopped mattering a long time ago in her eyes. They'd have their opinions. All the mattered to her was the important people were alive and well.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

 _Thus Kindly I Scatter._

Her fingers traced the words, etched into marble of the purest white. She could find no imperfections in the stone, no indication that the words had been chiseled into the it. Lifting her hand, Weiss exhaled slowly.

"I'm sorry." This wasn't the first time she'd come this way. It was, however, the first time she'd managed to make the entire walk, to stop in this exact place. Every other time, all the burdens seemed too much, she'd never made it out of the tree line before the weight on her legs became far too great. She'd ran, fleeing from the ghosts, and the guilt. "None of this should have happened…." Breathing, even now, was hard, heavier than on any normal day, her lungs working against instincts.

"Anyone ever tell you about her?" His voice was rough, disused. Weiss didn't turn, taking in the soft crunch of his footsteps, leaves cracking apart.

"No."

The tips of his boots appeared in her peripheral vision, long after her instincts screamed that someone was into her personal space a little too far. "She was…something special. Sorta person that only happens once in a while. Never appreciated that, back then." Wistfulness bled into the gravely rumble. "By the time we did…well, she was gone, and it'd all gone to pieces." He knelt. "Tai just sorta shut down. I was working with Oz, doing anything and everything…Raven…well, she did her thing." Run off, as Weiss understood it. Qrow sighed, his own hand coming to rest on the tombstone. "We all failed her."

That didn't process for Weiss. "How could you have failed her? You helped raise Ruby and Yang, they both look up to you?" In a way that Weiss had secretly envied.

His laugh wasn't terribly humored. It reminded Weiss of those first nights, when they'd sat, nothing said, just her chocking back sobs from the nightmares, and Qrow shaking his head, and occasionally letting out one of those chilling chuckles. "You know what the first thing I did when I heard Summer died was?" he didn't pause for an answer, nor did Weiss have one prepared. "I went off and killed the bastards. Didn't go check on Ruby and Yang, didn't see how Tai was doing. Just hauled off and killed them." A finger twitched. "Then spent months drinking myself under every table I could find." He snorted. "Hell, first time I actually came back to see the girls, I was drunk. Hadn't been sober in days, was lucky I could walk straight."

He rocked back on his heels. "They didn't notice." He shrugged. "I told myself it was fine, any time that niggling voice in my head told me it wasn't, I found another drink." A snort. "I failed her. I failed them." Bitter self-deprecation was a skill Weiss had found herself becoming quite adept in, and it radiated from Qrow. "She'd have been proud of you."

"What?" All of Weiss's thoughts glitched out, shifting left and right, unable to quite compute what he had said.

"Summer." Weiss stood at the same time Qrow did, her slim frame drafted by the older man. "She'd have been proud of you four. You in particular." On any other day, Qrow would have called her Princess, and the lack of the mocking nickname left the sentence hanging, a heavy weight between them.

"Why?" Even that single word cracked.

For a long time, he didn't speak, when Weiss glanced up and him, she found his eyes drawn to the stars overhead. "Everything you've done, since walking off that battlefield." He paused. "Everything you did on that battlefield." His lips twitched. "According to Ruby's letters, you've grown quite a bit, since first meeting her." That, Weiss knew, went without saying. She had been a bit of a bitch. "You learned from mistakes. And, when the chips came down…" from nowhere, Qrow produced a coin to flip. "You put your foot down and stood up for what you cared about."

"I killed the people responsible." Accusatory acid dripped off her tongue.

His head shook. "No. You stood by your teammates. You picked up the pieces." He went quiet again. "You made the hard choice, Weiss Schnee. You put aside yourself, to help your friends." Sensing he had more to say, Weiss remained silent. "You're a far better person than most of us ever could be."

She didn't have anything to say to that. Nothing about Weiss felt good, any longer. All she could see was White Fang soldiers, crumbling to their knees, spears of ice buried in their chests. Arthur Watts, laughing hysterically as she struck him down. Cinder Fall, bleeding, laughing, not even able to see the strike that would claim her life. A soft wind blew, it's chill hardly noticeable around the cold that already pervaded her body.

They stood that way for a long time, just staring into the stars.

"It scares me." Weiss wasn't sure what prompted her to start speaking, but the words came, halting as they were. "How easy it is, to just…let it happen. How I don't even feel a thing, until…until it's…over. And in between, it's just cold." A cold that was harder and harder to ignore, since Haven. It was as though that feeling, already bubbling in her from Cinder, had gotten a taste of freedom, and didn't want to go away.

There was no expectation of an answer. Wind hissed. A few leaves crackled. Clouds drifted over the moon. Weiss felt a few tears sneak free, and she made no move to wipe them aside.

"Whatever you do, don't take up drinking." She wasn't sure how long it was, but Qrow spoke. "Doesn't make it better. Just hides it, only worse when it comes back."

Something howled, in the far distance.

"It's…" She took a deep breath. "I can't keep going on like this. I know that." Her grip on Myrtenaster became painful. "But I don't know any other way. I…I can't let something happen to them. I…I…" Exhausted of tears, her eyes flickered, empty. "I'm not Ruby. I can't just shrug it all off, make it all better somehow, and keep smiling." Slowly, the cracks were starting to form, Weiss knew that. She tried to hide them, but they were coming through, little by little. Her seams were showing.

"There's no shame in weakness." For the first time in a while, Qrow dragged his eyes down from the stars. "God knows you've earned in." Taking a breath, he gestured. "They can take care of themselves for a few days…Beacon's still pretty damn safe…I'm sticking around for a bit." He turning, made to walk away.

"Qrow." She turned her head, just a bit. He paused, just a beat. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Princess." There was a certain affection to the nickname now.

Leaves crunches as he left. Weiss waited until he passed out of hearing, before speaking again.

"I'm sorry…no matter what he says." Weiss could feel her throat closing, even as more words spilled out. "Ruby was…the most amazing person I've ever met. She saw nothing but the best in everyone, even if we really didn't deserve it." A sparse few tears manage to sneak their way out. "She pulled me out of a darkness I didn't even know I had…kicking and screaming all the way, without complaining, of being angry, or anything. Just smiling, full of bubbly energy." Cloth rustled, her free hand gripping her skirt tight. "I didn't deserve any of it. I don't deserve any of it." Slipping to her knees once more, Weiss pressed her fingers against the inscription once again.

 _Thus, I Kindly Scatter._

"I'll make it right. Somehow." The words cracked. "She deserves that much." A deep shuddering breath. "Your daughter deserves so much better than this…" Weiss's throat closed off, no more words able to form.

Tears pipped against the dirt, and rain began to fall.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

Upon her return to Beacon, Weiss felt lighter.

"Hey, Princess." Yang dropped down at the table to her left, bag of chips in hand.

"Yang." Weiss gave her teammate a slow nod. She took a deep breath. "You were right." The Blonde blinked, confusion evident. "You and Blake both."

Understanding dawned. Yang shrugged, waving the statement off, but at least having the decency to finishing chewing before she replied. "No sweat." Offering Weiss a lopsided grin, she went on. "We've got to look after each other, you know?"

Weiss allowed herself to nod, and almost smile. "That we do." It was an oddly normal conversation. She'd done enough looking after them, she probably should at least listen to them. "We'd make a pretty crappy team if we didn't." From her bed, Blake chuckled a bit.

"Right." Yang nodded. "So, is it just me, or has Professor Port gotten even more _boring_." Weiss groaned, head falling into her hands.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

The first explosion was the only cue of the attack. Seconds later, screams began, echoing about the campus.

Weiss was moving before the sound of the detonation had died down. Mytenaster gripped tightly, glyphs flashing, she was running down the halls. The few panicking students she passed moved out of her way, leaving the Schnee heiress to sprint into the courtyard of the school as the first Grimm came roaring.

Twist, flick.

Corpse slumping behind her, Weiss kept running, stretching her senses are far as possible, straining to try and pinpoint Blake or Yang. Another Beowulf came leaping, and met its end in a spray of gore, but she was still running. There wasn't time to stop.

Somewhere from the left, a girl screamed, before it was consumed by the howls of Grimm. Throwing her hand out, a glyph spiraled, sending a lunging Ursa flying. Weiss kept running, barely noticing the flickering beneath her feet, her Semblance just knowing what she needed.

By that same token, Weiss found herself leaping sideways, just before a fist passed through the space her head had occupied a moment before.

"Hehehe, I'm afraid no interruptions allowed!" Weiss wasn't sure who the person attacking her was, and at that point, she didn't care. Bladed gauntlets, and…tail.

Her eyes narrowed. Scorpion Faunus?

Before she had time to assess more, he was lunging forwards, bladed gauntlets snapping out. A twist to the side, he rolled, twisting smoothly back to his feet. Deranged eyes locked to her own.

Her legs shifted, weight rearranging, settling into a fighting stance. Left foot turned, just so, weight balanced just slightly towards the back. Rapier held crosswise to her body, wrist set. Beneath her feet, a glyph whirled to life.

Whoever the man was, he killed both her summons in a flash, ducking under the slash from Weiss herself, before forcing her back with a kick. Lips thinning, the Schnee heiress pressed forwards again.

High. Low. Thrust. Left, Block. Flip. Left. Right. Block. Dodge. Thrust. Left. Left. Duck. Roll. Flip.

The motions ran together, sparks flickering between the few impacts of their weapons. Rolling beneath another looping bunch, Weiss couldn't help but snarl in frustration, as another thrust was batted aside with an ease that bordered on contempt. He was toying with her.

"I think that's enough…heeheheh!" With a cackle, the man flipped back, landing in an awkward crouching position. Before Weiss could react, he jumped away, vanishing into the din of battle. Before Weiss could follow him, she picked up the heavy retorts of Yang's shotgun gauntlets. Her desire to wring answers from that strange Faunus shoved aside, another symbol howling to life beneath her feet, and she kicked off, rocketing across the campus, tracking the echoes of heavy gauntlet blasts.

Muscles burning, despite the reinforcement of Aura, Weiss skidded to a halt, gravel flying in every direction around her boots. Time dilation from her glyphs remained in effect, giving her a lifetime to take in every small detail of the situation.

Trees were smashed, deep craters having been blasted into the ground, creating the gravel that coat the dirt. Deep gouges, leftovers of powerful sword strikes, crisscrossed each other; in half a second, Weiss charted the entire course of the battle, reconstructing each blow, the flickers of Blake's semblance when a blow was dodged.

Pulling her attention farther in, Weiss gave a strangled gasp. Blood pooled on the ground. It marked footprints, twists, dodges, the tide of battle played out in the life giving fluid, a giving a chilling confirmation to the swordfight that Weiss had just reconstructed in her mind's eye…and to the conclusion she had reached. Blake's hair, matted and tangled with blood, fanned out onto the gravel.

Metal, glinting just a bit in the noonday sun, still grasped by fingers that had long since gained their final pallor. White fabric, turned the same crimson as the cloak that was wrapped around Weiss's shoulders. Black, shinning with blood, another sight Weiss was intimately familiar with.

"Go…" the word was rasping, choking out by a speaker clearly well beyond their limits. Head jerking, Weiss's eyes snapped to the center of the clearing. "To hell." Shotgun gauntlet's chambered, the sound distinct, easy to pick out, even amongst the backdrop of screaming and death.

Red. Sunlight caught the edge, for the split second before the blade thrust forwards. Yellow, flaring with the motion.

Even as the steel sank into her chest, Yang continued her step forwards, impaling herself further on the weapon, eyes wild with defiant rage, teeth bared.

There was a distinctive crack, when flesh and bone met, leaving Weiss, senses still heightened by her own Semblance, to watch in horrifying slow motion as Adam Taurus's head exploded into a fine red and grey mist, hurtling across the stones in the opposite direction, chased by a plume of brilliant orange flames. For a moment, Yang was frozen, prosthetic arm extended, fist sitting in the space formerly occupied by another person's head, whose blade was now buried to the hilt in her chest.

Physics and time reasserted themselves, and the headless corpses was thrown backwards, hand ripped from the hilt of the blade, to rest amidst the still settling mist that represented all that was left of his head. Weiss noticed none of that.

Yang slumped forwards, coughing hard. Blood splashed as her knees hit the dirt. Weiss was moving, but not fast enough to keep her last teammate from slumping sideways, hitting the stones with that same, horrible thump, burned into her mind, if only be repetition and exposure.

Lilac eyes found Weiss's, as another cough shook it's way free. Yang's lips moved, attempting to form words, a race against the fading color in her checks. Tears started to form at the corner of those eyes, before they falling away.

Something splashed into the still pooling blood. With shaking hands, Weiss felt her own cheeks to realize she was crying. Every heart beat physical hurt, hand trembling even more, she reached down, slowly closing Yang's eyes, unable to bear the sight; dull, lifeless, in place of vibrancy and life. Then, she stood, Myrtenaster gripped tightly. Cold rushing in, Weiss stood, turning to leave.

"Oh? What's this?" The voice was mocking, that same as before. Her focus locked to him without pause, glare becoming sharper and sharper by the second. "Does it hurt?" A cackle. "Tell me it does!"

She screamed, arm slashing downwards.

The ground beneath the insane Faunus exploded upwards, a pillar of ice ten and a half feet tall forming in a single instant. Said Faunus escaped a horrible death by inches, laughing all the while. Fire flashed, glyphs there and gone in an instant, and he flipped again, avoiding another terrible fate.

She almost didn't bother dodging the punch that would have landed those blades in her stomach. Throwing herself into the motion at the last second, she felt the skitter of metal across her projected Aura, some of the force still reaching through to slit the fabric of her dress. Skidding back, her lips thinned, the Faunus's mocking laugher filling the clearing, landing before her. He crouched low, tail arcing over his left shoulder, manic glee on his face.

A single gesture, and half a dozen spikes of ice went flying, forcing her opponent to retreat, his mocking laughter filling her ears as her boots left the ground. Before the Faunus could recover his bearings, she attacked, stabbing, slashing, twisting.

Every move was countered with contempt, and further laughter. When she called lightning, it didn't seem to faze the madman at all even those few times it struck. When she called fire, he flipped and twisted between explosions, maniacal cackles ringing out. When she called ice, it was more of the same. Every time she closed the distance, she gained another cut, another bruise, all of her training long since gone out the window, fighting on instincts alone. Cold blotted out the pain, the fabric of her clothing was, however, beyond its absorbance, blood trickling from nicks.

A sharp gesture, the sharp tug of exerted Aura digging past the cold. Summoning glyphs spiraled out, filling the air between the two. It was hard to find the focus to exert the summoning, for a moment, the glyphs flickered, she was afraid they might fail. Stone cratered as the massive blade of the armored knight smashed down where the Faunus had been a second before. For the first time, his eyes widened in fear, as he leapt skywards.

She saw her chance. Myrtenaster spun, chamber clicking into place. Reaching down inside, she found the ball of feeling, the rage, the hate, the loss, the pain, all of it. The cold gave way, letting her emotions free, pushing them outwards. Beneath her feet, the glyph spiraled into being, pure white and glowing faintly. Her arm drew back, arm extended, fingers lining up with her slowly flipping opponent. Step forward, thrust.

A bolt of pure, unbridled fury; ice, steam, fire, water, lightning coiled together by some unholy coincidence, smote him squarely in the chest. He died, then and there, chest melted clean through, skull cracking open on the stones. Weiss watched his brains leaking out for a moment, before turning and walking away, tears still staining her cheeks.

It took quite a while for her to limp her way to any other signs of life. Corpses and scorched ash littered the ground, viscera pooling from time to time. Still the sounds of battle had died down. A few times, one or another of Weiss's limbs gave way, sending her sprawling, or her rapier clattering to the earth. Yet, each time, she forced herself upwards, pushing onwards, into the growing silence. She was cold. Empty.

"Weiss!" Jaune was ragged, the young man in question bursting out of the rubble. For a moment, reflex took over, Weiss snapped to action, halfway into a strike, before catching herself. It was Jaune. A…friend. His cheek was bleeding heavily, and he was favoring his left leg. Behind him Nora and Ren slumped out, then back against a pile of rubble, looking equally worse for the wear. Jaune took in her appearance for half a second, before speaking. Dozens of questions flickered around his expression, until he settled on: "Do you know what is going on?"

Weiss shook her head, staggering forwards another two steps, before her legs collapsed again, vision swimming in and out. Grunting in pain, she pushed herself upright, Myrtenaster functioning as a crutch. Her next step was shaking, and Jaune caught her as she crumpled again. And so, they moved on, Weiss limping, poignantly ignoring the cold, everywhere, not just rushing down her arm to her rapier.

"Miss Schnee." Professor Goodwitch's surprised shout dragged her from her thoughts. "My goodness." Taking in the appearance of the former Heiress, the professor jerked as if struck, eyes darting left and right, no doubt looking for her teammates. Weiss's eyes narrowed, almost daring the woman to ask the obvious question, of where the others were. Luckily, for everyone, she didn't. "I am glad to see you" Weiss grunted, Jaune helping her to a collapsed section of wall, where she sagged, body utterly spent.

She wasn't sure how long she was there, slumped against a smashed wall. Every now and again, voices would echo about the area, both shouting, running about. Occasionally, someone sat down beside her, but Weiss was only vaguely conscious of those moments. Reality faded away, for a long time, as she sat. When at length, her consciousness of the world return, everything was in chaos. Panic saturated the air, although it didn't manage to sink in for Weiss. Panic seemed…mundane at that point.

"Miss Schnee." Professor Goodwitch was sitting next to her. "I…" Her professor stumbled on the words. "There is something you need to know." Weiss's eyes narrowed, already sensing the direction of this conversation.

"I already know about the Maidens." Words came, more biting, piercing than Weiss intended. How could she not? That power had left Cinder the moment Cinder's head left the rest of her body. Weiss had seen it happen, even if then, she didn't understand. Since then, she'd learned.

Goodwitch blinked, before making a small nod. "That makes this a bit easier then." She sighed. "Those who are attacking are after the powers of the Fall Maiden." Weiss didn't respond to that, it only made sense. The last known location of the Maiden of Fall was Beacon, and her killer, Weiss, was at Beacon. Even if they Maiden wasn't there, Weiss, to them, was a source of information. "They will attack again soon. I will be blunt Miss Schnee. I am unsure if we can defend against another assault such as that one." Weiss turned her eyes, twin glacial spheres on her teacher. The message was unspoken, but understood.

Muscles screaming in protest, Weiss pushed herself to her feet once more. Ruby's cloak fluttered a bit as the wind blew, and Weiss pulled the garment tight, trying to capture even a tiny bit of warmth. "I understand."

For a moment, student and teacher stood, eyes locked. One, filled with sadness, the other, simply gone. Someone howled in the distance at the moment broke, each limping away to their respective tasks.

 _ **-One Most Star-**_

Gears clunked and churned as Weiss punched in the code, and the elevator started to descend. Eyes closing, she took in the soft rasping of metal, the rumbling of the motor as they car plunged into the depths of the mountain side. Soothing, in a strange way, she allowed her grip on Myrtenaster to slacken, just a bit. There would be no threat at the bottom, no enemy to fight.

The elevator ride was thirty-nine seconds, she had memorized that, months ago. At one point, she had even figured out how deep underground they were. The figure escaped her now, but it was a considerable distance. For a few seconds, that line of thought was a pleasant distraction from the terrible reality of what had happened.

 _Ding!_

The noise was infinitely cheerful, drawing a sharp glare, before Weiss started from the box, every step precise, moving with as much haste as she could force from her protesting limbs.

At a full sprint, it was a thirty second journey, as she was now, perhaps a couple minutes. A minute longer than she really had, not that such things mattered now. What could she even say? A few more tears snuck past, swiped away as fast as possible.

A dull light from the end of the corridor, pulsing, just a bit, as though mechanical in nature. Something in Weiss's chest wrenched, her legs freezing mid-step.

Flick of the wrist. The glyph spun into existence, she could feel the strain on her already overtaxed Aura as the possessed suite of armor she had fought so long ago, flashed into being, head bowed before her. "Stop anyone who isn't me." The verbal order wasn't required, it was bound to her, and would know her will, but there was something comforting about saying the words, as though they had a greater degree of permanence.

For a moment, the summons head rose, the sockets were on a normal person eyes might have been locked to hers. After a moment, it bowed once more, hefting the massive blade that accompanied the knight, and taking a defensive stance. Weiss took another breath. For a second, she might have thought the construct was worried. It had always been a little more…human than her other summons, which, as they had been in life, were mindless killing machines.

Then, the feeling past, and she forced her limbs to keep working, keep moving. In the distance, the machine came into focus. The consoles pulsed gently, the only signs of activity, even if Weiss knew there was so much more. The pod on the left, it's glass shattered, arrow still impaled there, was empty, the lid raised.

To the right, was a sight that, even months later, made Weiss's heart clench.

Ruby Rose lay, eyes closed, in a state of calm that she would never have achieved in regular life.

* * *

 **AN: Um…I'm sorry? I promise?**

 **This is SUPER late, and I apologize…Fire Emblem might or might not have eaten my soul. This has been sitting as a completed chapter in my open word docs for at least two weeks now. So that's embarrassing. Reasonably happy with the end results though.**

 **Comments, thoughts, ect are always appreciated. No promises when the next chapter is coming, I'm up to my eyeballs in beating the new Fire Emblem game (I'm like 40 hours in at the moment and nowhere near done), but hopefully soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Can a Heart Be Turned to Stone?**

 _"Weiss?" Ruby's voice cracked, pain resonating through the words. Her attention snapped to her teammate, arrow buried in her chest, blood leaking from the wound. Silver eyes clouded by pain, even as she managed a shaky smile. "Are you okay?"_

 _"You dolt." Weiss barely remembered moving, just that, she was suddenly kneeling beside Ruby. It was just like the younger girl, worrying about other people instead of herself. Weiss would begrudgingly admit that he knowledge of medical practices and injuries wasn't good, but Ruby's injury seemed…bad._

 _Then Ruby was screaming, her body engulfed in a brilliant yellow-orange glow, stretching from the freshly beheaded Cinder to Weiss's partner. As the glow faded, Ruby's eyes slid back into focus, soft whimpers slipping past her lips._

 _"Ruby?" What had that light been? Based on how loud Ruby had screamed it must have been incredibly painful, Weiss had seen her break limbs in accidents with her Semblance, and shrug it off, leaving the Schnee heiress with the horrible conclusion that in less than a handful of seconds, Ruby had been subject to possibly the most excruciating experience of her life._

 _"Weiss?" Blood was more clearly staining Ruby's chest now, the fabric of her shirt shimmering with the liquid. "Can you…" She started coughing, rolling sideways, slowly trying to stand up. Kneeling beside her teammate, Weiss slung one of Ruby's arms over her shoulders, supporting most of the younger girl's weight as they stood. Settling her grip on Myrtenaster, Weiss glanced towards Ruby, wondering just what her teammate had in mind. They couldn't go far with that kind of injury._

 _Fortunately, Ruby had gotten quite good at interpreting Weiss's expressions, and pointed shakily to the elevator, sporting a melted hole in the dead center. Privately, Weiss wasn't sure it would move, but at the very least, it would give Ruby something to lean against. Those first steps were shaking, Ruby's breath coming in ragged gasps. By the time they'd limped the dozen fee to the shattered metal box, Ruby had grown even paler._

 _"Where now?" Keep calm. Panic wouldn't achieve anything, Weiss knew, even though she could feel the small wad of it in her chest building._

 _Ruby coughed, wincing in pain. "Bottom?" In was more of a question that a statement, but Weiss figured it was better than nothing. Leaning off of Weiss's shoulder, Ruby managed to support her entire weight on her scythe, as Weiss cast her mind about for the best way to move the elevator._

 _Pyrrha had no doubt used her Semblance, and Dust only knew what Cinder had done to create the hole in the center. Weiss had no such abilities, and really, her only option was something she had never tested before. In observing Ruby's Gravity Dust rounds, Weiss had been attempting to replicate the feat in her glyphs, without a great deal of success. Still, she was running out of options, and it would have to do. Dropping to one knee, she willed the symbol, a sort of stone gray, to flare above her head, pouring Aura into. With a muffled groan, the car began to move, sliding downwards._

 _After that, there wasn't as much work required. Just keeping their speed steady, to prevent knocking Ruby down. A few times, Weiss had to reposition her glyph, usually to keep them from speeding up too much. Unfortunately, she wasn't aware how far down to go, and the impact with the eventual ground was harder than intended._

 _Releasing the glyph, Weiss's collapsed forwards, gasping for breath, bits of darkness pushing into the corners of her vision, a sure sign she had pushed her body beyond any reasonable limit. Taking a deep breath, Weiss forced herself upright. Everything hurt, but she didn't have time to be hurting. Her best friend was hurt, bleeding from an arrow to the chest, and that concern superseded any others._

 _Or, she had previously had an arrow to the chest. When Weiss turned her attention back to Ruby, she had to hide the visible shook, at the lack of an arrow in her partner's chest. A small patch of bloody skin was visible through the ripped fabric, but the arrow itself seemed to be missing. Bits of fire flickered around the fingers of Ruby's right hand, now pressed to her chest. Their eyes met._

 _Both girls knew a lie when they saw one, even as they both gave the same unspoken answer to the question in each other's gaze. Pushing herself upright, rapier acting as a crude crutch, Weiss allowed caught Ruby's weight across her shoulders, and they started walking again._

 _They only made it a few stepped before Ruby was almost falling over, her skin a ghostly pallor. Weiss could only conclude that, whatever she'd done to heal herself, it had only healed the surface injury not the rest. A burst of fear shot down Weiss's limbs._

 _"Sorry…" Ruby's words were barely a whisper, audible only as a result of the oppressive silence in the…vault, room, wherever they were. The only other noises were footsteps, and the thump of Ruby using her massive weapon as a crutch from the other side. "...Just...down there." Questions flashed around Weiss's head, but a single look at Ruby silenced them. There wasn't time for questions, they could wait for when Ruby was okay._

 _"Hold still a minute." With Ruby's life possibly hanging in the balance, and not very many better options, Weiss swept Ruby up in to a poor imitation of a bridal carry, almost braining herself with Ruby's scythe._

 _"Weiss!" Neither of them could really muster up the energy to blush at the situation, her from blood loss, Wiess from utter exhaustion._

 _"This is faster." That and Weiss wasn't about to let her best friend and partner die. She had been attempting to ignore whatever had happened to Pyrrha, but…well, it wasn't as though she wasn't aware. "And this way you can maybe explain what is going on."_

 _"I…I don't know." She was whispering, pausing every so often between the words to wince in pain. "It's like…there's all sorts of stuff in my head now? Most of it doesn't make much sense… Cinder was...a Maiden? Whatever that means? And Pyrrha was supposed to be one, except Cinder killed someone named Amber…I don't get it..." A painful sounding cough. "That's what the orange glowey thing was."_

 _What? None of this made any sense at all, but Weiss filed it under problems to solve later, as she took in the area of the hallway ahead. A massive swath of stone was seared black, bits of soot clinging to the walls, and pieces of ash still settling to the floor. At the center of the destruction, was a substantially less destroyed circle, surrounding a seared corpse. The smell of burned flesh hadn't lingered, for which Weiss was grateful._

 _"Cinder…" Ruby mumbled, her head lolling against Weiss's shoulder, eyes sliding more and more out of focus with every step. Weiss shivered unconsciously. Cinder had caused this much damage? How powerful had Cinder been? How powerful was_ Ruby _to have fought Cinder?_

 _Looking beyond the destruction, Weiss frowned. Some kind of apparatus, emblazoned with the symbol of the Atlas Military, which didn't really help Weiss to determine what it's use was. Two pods, which reminded her of something she'd seen in a discussion of cryostasis. The pod in the left had its cover shattered, an arrow buried in the glass, and via that, the chest of a girl. On the right, a second pod, it's lid unblemished and open. Ruby tried to lift her head from Weiss's shoulder, straining for a few moments, before giving up, and letting her check rest on her partner's shoulder once again._

 _"There." If these Maidens, which Ruby apparently was, has such amazing powers, Weiss wasn't sure why Ruby was in such a bad state, but considering the state of her best friend, asking was not a priority, getting Ruby better was. The small girl was barely able to speak, but she did seem to have some kind of plan… or so Weiss hoped._

 _Limping to the side of the pod, Weiss set Ruby down at gently as possible. Without anything to support Ruby's head, it lolled to the side, eyes opening and closing slowly, barely focused._

 _"Green button." Shaking, her hands rose, unclipping her cloak. For a while, she held it over her chest, breath coming heavier and heavier. Then, in a burst of strength, she threw the red cloak over Weiss's shoulders, before collapsing against her. "Take care of Yang and Blake, okay?" It took a while for her to make all the words happen, slurring and rasping as they were._

 _Weiss could feel the tears on her neck, her arms wrapped around Ruby. She was painfully aware of the other girl shaking, as she leaned down, carefully not to disturb the cloak about her shoulders. Standing upright once more, Weiss's heart continued to race, she might not have known much about anything medicine related, but she knew more than enough to know this was beyond bad._

 _With a click, the pod sealed, leaving Weiss to stare down at the closed eyes of her best friend, and a pulsating green button on the center console. This wasn't the time for misgivings or questions. This was a matter of Ruby's life of death. Weiss hit the button with perhaps more force than was strictly required._

 _There was a soft click, machinery whirred to life. Weiss returned her attention to the pod, hand coming to rest on the glass, as if she could will Ruby better, or whatever the machine was doing to work faster._

 _Ruby's eyes were closed, and motion of her chest barely visible, no matter how hard Weiss stared. Slowly, the surface of the glass began to cool, nothing uncomfortable, but more than enough for Weiss to notice. As the temperature fell further, Ruby's eyes snapped open, for a second, burning that same brilliant silver that they had atop the tower. Her hand came pressing against the glass, lips moving. It was only a sparse few words, but Weiss etched them into her memory, lips parting to reply, when Ruby's hand fell away from the glass, striking the hard bottom of the pod with an audible thump._

 _Knees giving way, Weiss Schnee slid to the ground, her slight form engulfed by Ruby's cloak, cheek resting on the glass. Soundlessly tears began to fall, rolling down her checks, and freezing against the surface of the glass._

 **-One More Star-**

Weiss shook her head, hand pressed against the surface, as though willing Ruby's to lift up and meet her own. A thin line of blood trailed down her arm, settling over the back of her hand. Shaking her head, the Schnee heiress took another breath. Ruby would be okay. Ruby had to be okay.

The green button clicked as she pressed it. Machinery hissed to life.

There was a distinct sense of having been in this position before, for Weiss, barely holding her tired body upright, waiting, on bated breath for something she barely could explain at the time. Just forced to implicitly trust her teammate.

"Please be okay." It was a hoarse whisper, almost willing it. She'd lost so much…too much. Yang…Blake… probably everyone else by this point. Losing Ruby too…she couldn't.

It took longer for the machine to undo its work, leaving Weiss to lean against it, unable to watch the changes happen, Ruby's cloak pulled tightly about her shoulders. As it always did the relatively light cloth seemed like a leaden weight about her shoulders.

Thirty seconds. Ruby, twirling about a small horde of Grimm, Crescent Rose moving in a literal blur.

Forty-five seconds: The mess that resulted from what passed for Team RWBY studying.

One minute: A weight pressed against her shoulder, Ruby having passed out twenty minutes into whatever movie they'd decided to watch, or Yang had decided they'd watch, over the objections of the rest.

Ninety seconds. She was crying, vaguely aware of the tears spilling onto her bloodstained clothes.

Something clicked above her head. Weiss scrambled back to her feet, spinning about.

Coughing, ragged breathing.

"Weiss?" Her name cracked, and eyes blinked open. For a moment, Weiss felt her chest clench. Ruby's eyes were slightly out of focus, just as they had been, although they weren't half as bleary as months ago when Weiss had last seen her. Straining to smile, Ruby sat up, slowly. "What happened?"

Weiss's smile was shaky, held together by sheer force of will and emotional exhaustion. She didn't even know what to say, words could really explain everything that had happened in just the last hour…never mind months. Instead, she threw herself at her teammate, arms wrapping around Ruby's thin frame, and for the first time since they'd last seen each other, Weiss Schnee broke down completely, letting all the emotional weight that had bene bottling up come free.

It was evident from the beginning Ruby didn't understand what was happening, her arms wrapping back around Weiss, holding the other girl as she cried. As tears slowly ran out, and the shaking that had grasped Weiss subsided, the older girl stepped back a bit, managing a bit more solid of a smile.

Silence stretched on between them as Weiss couldn't bring herself to say the words required, and Ruby not knowing what to say.

Just when Weiss thought she might have found the right words, Ruby winced, one of her hands snapping to rest over her chest, a hacking cough slipping out.

Before Weiss's eyes, her teammate, best friend, seemed to wilt. A moment before, Ruby had barley appeared alive, yet over the course of fifteen seconds, she slumped, shoulders collapsing inwards. Eyes half closing, face scrunching up with obvious pain. Vague orange flames coalesced about her fingertips before sputtering back out.

"Ruby?" Weiss found herself supporting Ruby's entire weight. "Ruby!"

"Weiss?" Thin amounts of silver tracked, back and forth, sloughing over Weiss a few times before centering themselves again. "I'm really cold…" It as a strain to hear the words despite the short distance between them. "I…Weiss?"

"Yes?" Panicking flooded Weiss, reality slowly catching up with her.

"I…" Ruby stumbled over whatever words she wanted to say, slumping forwards onto Weiss's chest once again.

"Ruby?" Terror shot down Weiss's limbs, as a soft orange glow began to suffuse Ruby Rose. "Ruby!"

Fire. The sensation was one of fire. Pain, as well, but the pain was moot. Weiss had felt enough pain, of enough kinds, for the pain to be only a footnote, a last, spiteful hurrah. Her skin glowed, brighter and brighter, as Ruby in turn shone softer and softer.

Knowledge, fragmented bits of other people, hammering at the inside of her skull. Cinder Fall, high pitched insane laughter snuffed out by a blade she never saw. Amber: Held down, power ripped from her, a form of agony so blistering it beggared description, even in this muted third-hand fashion. Dozens of others, snippets so swift that they flashed in and out of focus before she even understood them at all.

Ruby. Sadness, whirling sadness, combined with a low lingering pain, and, somehow, an acceptance. As the flames bled out of Weiss's bones, they were replaced by something else, a softer warmth now, pulsing with a feeling that she had known, had ignored, had pushed away, yet accepted somewhere deep down. Ruby Rose, slumped, unmoving in her arms, yet, she was there, lips curled into a sad little smile, eyes sparkling with moonlit tears. Her lips formed words, words that were forever burned in Weiss's consciousness.

Weiss Schnee screamed.

 **-One More Star-**

She emerged from the Vault, not even knowing where she was walking. Steps fell, nothing graceful, grudging, plodding movements, her legs weight down by intangibles. A soft breeze fluttered the red cloak wrapped around her shoulders, it's tails flicking her heels, the hood, pressing against her checks.

Something clattered in the ruins. Pale fingers flexed, arctic fire snapped upwards. A death scream, then, silence.

Softly, tears plipped against the stonework. High above, stars twinkled.

 **AN: I am a monster. A fucking monster. For anyone curious, that ending bit? That's what this story was inspired by. The entire point…if I can call it that, of this story, is to psychological destroy Weiss. Because I hate myself, or something like that.**

 **I was gonna just stop right there, but Weiss dragged me kicking and screaming back…and so there is in fact one more chapter. Not sure what one would expect…but onwards ho.**

 **Notes at time of posting: ...Goddamnit. This has been sitting finished for long enough, it's about bloody time I posted it. If there are any major errors, I'll fix them as soon as possible, I'm without my laptop, and this computer is a pain in the ass (and I refuse to use google docs for anything on principle).**


End file.
